Academe

I had a wonderful weekend in Cambridge, the absolute antithesis of country life (I can't even say village life because I'm rapidly coming to realise that there isn't really any here). It's extraordinary, having everything you could possibly want - and a lot you probably never would - right on your doorstep. We shopped, we brunched with a BBC Young Thinker, we re-visited old movies, and I finished up with choral evensong at Kings. Better than Metatone and Floradix put together. Not cheaper though.

My Tower of London poppy pic at last

Back home, the leaves were thicker on the ground but those still hanging on are a beautiful mix of duster, lime drops, toast, labrador and Marigold rubber gloves - well I never said I was a poet! Everything is so late, and shrubs and perennials are being tricked into thinking it's spring and are starting to sprout. I have a burgeoning azalea in a pot on the terrace that may well come to a sticky end once the weather really changes. Thinking of that - ice, freezing winds, snow, sub-zero temperatures - I decided to check the level in the oil tank. The normal gauge doesn't work, so I polished my tallest bamboo cane and thrust it in. It seems to be more than half full, so all my self-sacrificing economies are paying off. It's considerably cooler now, though, and the Rayburn will be on most days in future. I can live with a cold bedroom since the only time I go in there is to get into an electric blanket-heated bed. I don't need to heat the other rooms unless I'm actually using them. But the hub of my house is the kitchen, and that has to be warm and cosy. Bugger the cost.